Four Planets and Crescent Moon Evening Conjunction - August 12-13, 2010

[iceman]

Hi all

We're in for a treat on August 12th and 13th when the crescent Moon joins four planets for a beautiful display in the West, just after sunset.

From late July through to late August, four planets have been visible in the evening sky. Venus, Mars and Saturn have been forming a triangle while Mercury has been a bit lower in the sky. It's been fantastic watching the planets each evening in the twilight glow.

When they are joined by the Crescent Moon with earthshine visible it's going to be a unique visual and photographic experience for everyone - so make sure you head on out to take a look.

Check out the article here, with screenshots of where to look and what to expect to see:
Four Planets and Crescent Moon Evening Conjunction - August 12-13, 2010 (http://www.iceinspace.com.au/63-600-0-0-1-0.html)

Please post your reports and images - we'd love to see them!

[renormalised]

Yep, it'll look pretty good:)

[Esseth]

Yeah i can't wait, it has been looking quite amazing so far

[leon]

Yep, i will be out side as well, as long the weather holds out, should be a good spectacle and photo opportunity.

Leon

[iceman]

Forecast is looking good for Thursday and Friday so far - Mostly Sunny.

Glad it's not tonight - the rain has come in today.

[Dennis]

Thanks for the heads up and article Mike!

Cheers

Dennis

[Eddy_P]

Thanks for the advance notice.
I probably would have missed it as it has been too cold to go out after dark lately.

[netwolf]

Mike, can you please do a picture for Wednesday August 11th at Sunset?
According to this graph we should be able to see it In Australia on Wednesday naked eye.
http://moonsighting.com/visibilitycurves/1431rmd_8-11-2010.gif
But it would be nice to get a screenshot as you have done for 12th and 13ths to show us were to look for it.

[rogerg]

I had been looking forward to this but seems like half WA is going to be rained out for Wed, Thurs, Fri, Sat and continuing clouds beyond that.

[iceman]

Hi Fahim
Looks like it might be possible.. attached.

[Esseth]

Good thing its not tonight for Brisbanites, rain and clouds :(

[netwolf]

Thanks Mike I also got Stellarium running and it helped lot in spotting it today, intially with binoculars and then by naked eye. Get out there and see it if your in Sydney its beautiful site to behold.

Photos will follow.

[Suzy]

Clear tonight here in Brissy and right on time to view this, wow, what a beautiful sight it is!

[mithrandir]

Focus seems a bit off. I guess infinity isn't infinity. Taken from across the road from Oakhill College, Castle Hill

Edit: From the Exif data:
Date/Time Original : 2010:08:11 18:21:29
Make : SONY
Camera Model Name : DSLR-A200
Lens Type : Minolta/Sony AF DT 18-70mm F3.5-5.6 (D)
Exposure Time : 6
F Number : 4.5
ISO : 400
Focal Length : 24.0 mm

[netwolf]

Andrew, thats awesome what lens and settings did you use. I am just up behind the Castle Hill Anglican Retirement Village so taken from my Balcony.
I wish i could have got the focus better on the shot with the plane in it.

[mithrandir]

Assuming all goes well I'll be back tomorrow at around 18:00. There is a small car park at the top of Old Castle Hill Rd.

I saw the plane, but considered it spoiled the image, so didn't take it.

It was quite amazing the night before, with the whole of the valley shrouded in mist, and Venus, Saturn and Mars visible, but I hadn't taken the camera with me.

[netwolf]

Andrew, I would join you as I know the spot quiet well but not sure i will make it there in time tomorrow evening. I have often drove past it and wondered that would make a nice setup point for times like these. Comet Mcnaught would have been nice from there. BTW dont know if they still do it but there is an Astronomy group that meets up at the a Poney Club down in that valey. I never got around to going there, but i am told they have some very nice dark skies from down there. Ken who is a member here started it up. Very nice guy had the oppertunity to meet him in person at his home once.

This crescent marks the begining of Ramdan (fasting sunrise to sunset for a month) for us so sunset is a busy time and I will be lucky to get home in time for it to start with, let alone get away there after. Hence I did my best to catch it today. I actually enjoyed doing something with Astronomy today, its rare since we had our first baby for me to get some time out for Astronomy. So I will take what I can get. I will try to catch it from my balcony again, which overseas the area quiet well. But catching the planets today would have been tricky as the moon was bellow my neghbours rooftop by the time the other planets were visable.

[iceman]

Sunny all day.. cloudy now :(

[iceman]

Raining now! :(

[spacezebra]

Stunning evening sky here in Albury - it was looking pretty ordinary earlier - but the skies have cleared and what an amazing sight. :eyepop:

Cheers Petra d.

[rogerg]

Raining here yesterday, today, and tomorrow. No-hope.

[sheeny]

Been raining and cold here all day and its not improving...:(

Al.

[Sarge]

Been horrible yesterday and today here in Melbourne. Cloudy at 6pm tonight, but finally cleared around 7pm. Just came back in. What a beautiful sight. All four planets clearly visible, with a slither of moon separating Mercury and Saturn. I was a little surprised that Mercury was so high, I estimate nearly 10 deg from horizon. Showers are still around so I'm not game to take out any equipment, plus I think this is one of the sights best seen with the naked eye. Hoping for another look tomorrow.
:D
Rod

[mbo]

A wash out in Dubbo too ... though probably not as chilly as Oberon :)

[mickqueensland]

Hi All,

perfect seeing here in Townsville this evening. The Moon and planets are putting on a nice show and I am hoping for the same tomorrow night as I am planning to set the scope up for a look at Saturn again.

The Townsville Astronomy Group went to Ravenswood (about 130Km south West on the goldfields) last weekend and the planets were pretty special then too. Later in the evening Jupiter and moons was quite special as the skies out there are so clear with very little ambient light.

Cheers
Mick

[mickqueensland]

Here's a question for someone clever :)

When will something similar to this happen again? I would think that having any 4 planets and the Moon all so close in conjunction would be a fairly rare event.

cheers
Mick

[iceman]

Apparently the next time there'll be 4 planets and a moon so close together isn't until September 2040!

[Dennis]

It’s been blowing a gale all day today but I decided to risk it and set up, nervously clinging on to the rig and observing hutch as gusts slammed into them, battering them with their intensity.:windy:

Due to wind induced vacillation, I was late setting up so the Moon had set below the roof, Mercury was well gone leaving only Mars, Venus & Saturn rapidly diving into the roofline. I forgot to unscrew the UV/IR filter off the front of the 70-200mm lens so ended up with filter flare.:rolleyes:

The sloping dark shape at bottom frame is our roofline. A somewhat comical and at times challenging session, but at least it was clear!:)

Cheers

Dennis

[StephenM]

Wow, I didn't realize it was that rare! Thanks for the info Mike.

[StephenM]

It's a bit ordinary for imaging out there isn't it Dennis! It was worth braving the wind for the conjunction though! I've just posted a slightly wind-blown image in the Solar System forum as well.

Cheers,
Stephen

[cyclone]

Taken from near Mareeba, North Queensland

[Rob_K]

Yep, cleared here too Petra! I drove out to the 'plains' at Everton - worth the trip, amazing sight! :thumbsup:

I missed the best light for photographing the conjunction, but got a shot later. Here are links to the image, and annotated image (bit noisy!!):

http://i727.photobucket.com/albums/ww271/Rob_Kau/IMG_4964copy_filteredcrop.jpg
http://i727.photobucket.com/albums/ww271/Rob_Kau/IMG_4964textcopy_filteredcrop.jpg

Cheers -

[spacezebra]

Hi Rob

Excellent images of the conjunction everyone! If the weather holds I will be out this evening with the camera.

Cheers Petra d.

[iceman]

It *will* be clear tonight!

It's a shame the Moon Phase will be a bit brighter but it'll still be great.

[mickqueensland]

Hi Iceman,

thanks for the info, I guessed right then, it is fairly rare, and most likely the last time I will see it (with my eyes anyway :))

I just knew there would be someone clever here ;)

Townsville is looking perfect today so will take scope out this arvo and be ready early.

cheers
Mick

[mithrandir]

The moon and planets occupy most of the field of view on a 24mm lens. A scope will give you the objects one at a time. At 1280mm the moon occupies most of my field of view.

I'm taking the camera and its tripod too.

[Rob_K]

The Arrow!! :D :screwy:


Cheers -

[Octane]

Rob,

That's a beautiful image -- love the way you've captured the sky.

H

[peterl]

Last night clouded out in Taree N.S.W.
Tonight is clear.
Nikon d70s/18-70 ed lens set at 70mm.
planets behind trees and old chimney filled with light from a torch.
Thanks for looking..
Peter.:)

[Rob_K]

Nice shots everyone! Really beautiful alignment. What I find intriguing is looking through the 'flat' dome of the sky and contemplating the orbital motions and huge distances involved, from our own, close Moon, way way out to Saturn.

I generated the attached in JPL's solar system simulator for this evening (with a few added bits!).

Cheers -

[Mike21]

I recently swapped my dSLR for a Motorcycle. So I had to borrow a friend's camera to do this. This is my best without editing

[mithrandir]

This was shot from just north of my Wednesday image. The row of lights in the centre on the horizon is Kurrajong.

Make : SONY
Camera Model Name : DSLR-A200
Lens Type : Minolta/Sony AF DT 18-70mm F3.5-5.6 (D)
ISO : 400

Main image
Date/Time Original : 2010:08:13 18:56:23
Exposure Time : 4
F Number : 3.5
Focal Length : 18.0 mm
Field Of View : 67.4 deg

Moon inset crop
Date/Time Original : 2010:08:13 19:01:36
Exposure Time : 6
F Number : 5.6
Focal Length : 300.0 mm

We were having an astronomy evening for some of the local cub packs with a variety of scopes from a 100mm refractor to a 16" dob. They were told to bring the following generation of cubs back for the next time.

[mbo]

absolutely georgeeouse shot ...love the dark gold tones ...

[ChrissieBee]

Hi.

This is my attempt of photographing the moon with the 3 planets visible. Foreground is the Brisbane Story Bridge

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=1532485&id=1303277082&ref=fbx_album#!/photo.php?pid=1532496&id=1303277082&ref=fbx_album&fbid=1570119535248

[Octane]

Hi Christine,

Welcome to IceInSpace!

Your link takes me to a login page, so can't view the image. Do you have a public version available?

I'm stuck at work and am dying to go home and process my own version(s)! I managed to sneak away from work from civil twilight until after astronomical twilight.

H

[shelltree]

I didn't get time to take any shots last night but I certainly did see it, wow it was an amazing sight :) I also saw a few star clusters later on!

[ChrissieBee]

Ooooppps. Here's a link to the same photo and some more. Unfortunately, because of the bright lights from the bridge and the city, the other 2 planets where just dots and the 4th one you can barely see.

Cheers!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/12409188@N08/4890104706/in/photostream/

[Octane]

Christine,

Well done -- beautifully saturated images. I like!

Gotta get off my backside and process my ones.

Thanks.

H

[StephenM]

Great shot Christine!

Cheers,
Stephen

[ChrissieBee]

Thanks for liking the photo. I didn't have a zoom lens so couldn't get a close up shot of the planets and moon. It was definitely an awesome sight.

[Liz]

Wow, spectacular shot Christine!! :thumbsup:

[spacezebra]

Excellent images guys.

Cheers Petra d.

[Analog6]

It looked wonderful from here last night. I may have a go at it tonight.

Suggested settings, anyone. I'll be using the H2 so wpuld I be best with 80mm f2.8 lens, 150 f3.2 or 210 f4?